CHAD

Photo by: Emmanuel Wuyts

Republic of Chad
République du Tchad

COUNTRY OVERVIEW

LOCATION AND SIZE.

The former French colony of Chad, a landlocked country located in
northern Central Africa, is more than 3 times the size of California.
The country has an area of 1,284,000 square kilometers (495,755 square
miles), with a land boundary length of 5,968 kilometers (3,708 miles).
Neighboring countries are Niger, Nigeria, and Cameroon to the west;
Libya to the north; Sudan to the east; and the Central African Republic
(C.A.R.) to the south. Lake Chad in the southwestern part of the country
is the largest body of water in the Sahel region. Chad also has the
Tibesti mountain range in the far north, some smaller mountains in
central Chad, and a few hills near the southern and western borders.
Most of the country is desert or savanna with limited rainfall, although
there are moderately temperate areas in the south. Chad's
capital, N'Djamena, is in the southwestern part of the country.

POPULATION.

In July 2001, the population of Chad was estimated at 8,707,078, an
annual growth rate estimated of 3.29 percent. The birth rate is
estimated at 48.28 per 1,000 people and the death rate at 15.4 per 1,000
people. Most of the population, half of which is under the age of 15,
lives in several southern provinces where high rainfall makes farming
and animal husbandry easier. About 1 percent lives in the arid upper
half of the country extending into the Sahara desert. Population density
varies between 0.15 persons per square kilometer (0.39 per square mile)
in the northern province and 61.7 persons per square kilometer (154 per
square mile) in the Logone Occidental province.

MANUFACTURING.

Based in Moundou, Chad's most important industrial company,
Cotontchad, gins cotton and manufactures soap and oil from cottonseed.
Cotontchad also has ginning operations in several large southern towns.
In addition to Cotontchad, Moundou has a cigarette company and a firm
that assembles agricultural equipment. In N'Djamena, several
companies produce paint, metal roofing, fruit drinks, mineral water and
cookies. Chad's third largest city, Sahr, hosts a sugar
production factory and an idle textile mill.

PETROLEUM.

Chad's petroleum industry will be extremely important in the
short-term future. There are plans to exploit 2 known petroleum
deposits: a small reserve of high-grade oil north of Lake Chad and a
much larger deposit of heavy crude oil in the Doba Basin of southern
Chad. A consortium led by Exxon will employ up to 4000 workers and
invest US$3.7 billion to exploit over 1 billion barrels in the Doba
basin. Further exploration is planned to determine whether more reserves
can be exploited.

MINING.

A South Korean company, AFKO, recently began building a factory to
extract gold reserves near the southern town of Pala. Chad is known to
hold deposits of bauxite, iron ore, uranium, tin, and tungsten, but
further research is necessary to determine whether these resources can
be extracted.

FINANCIAL SERVICES.

Chad's banking sector is small by international standards. With
US$100 million in deposits and limited capital investment, Chadian banks
have little money to lend. Much of their capital finances the
cotton-buying season for Cotontchad. For other businesses, credit is
expensive and difficult to obtain. Short-term credit can cost 18 to 26
percent and long-term credit is rarely available.

RETAIL.

The retail business is conducted primarily in the informal sector.
Thousands of vendors wander in Chad's urban streets searching for
buyers for their wares. In addition, thousands of small stores and
roadside stands sell limited varieties of household goods. In rural and
urban areas, many vendors gather in a network of small markets where
perishable goods are sold.

TRANSPORTATION.

Transport of goods is managed by many informal sector operators. Small
vehicles and large semis carry passengers and merchandise between
N'Djamena and different regional centers. Most vehicles are old
and break down often.